Arthur's Seat Lunchtime Handicaps
Report and Results 2011

December Handicap - a wee blast for winter
A timely arrival of some frozen snowy paths and a biting wind gave a seasonal edge to the December handicap.
This didn't deter the lucky 13 starters from getting out for a hard run, but it did peg back the times (or was that a result of the weekends exertions).
One man not daunted by the weather was Cameron. The Murray in a hurry was not only first home by a good margin but also recorded the fastest run of the day, nudging him back closer to the 30 minute mark. If the weather had been kinder it could have been this month.....
As Cameron was running his way through the field others were turning up late (Andy/Pete), or starting early (MikeL, Tom), or just enjoying the view (MikeR, CamB). A minor talking point was the bloke walking down the frozen gutted haddie as the "steps were too slippy". I think we collectively persuaded him it was not a correct Darwinian enterprise and I haven't heard of any rescue attempts on the evening news.
Gordon completed his full attendance for 2011 with another fine run - coming within seconds of his handicap in the snow and ice shows that the cross country season hasn't tired out all our participants. Mark had a strong run, his first going the right way round and his new off road shoes giving him more confidence on the descents and allowing him to keep away from Chloe over Whinny (although she did almost catch me on the climb).
Some 2011 stats:
Most Races - Gordon - 12
Fastest Run - Paul Faulkner - 25:49
Total Handicap runs -151
Newbies and PBs - 21

November Halloweenicap results
Yep, spookily enough 13 runners!!!!!
Despite the threat of ghouls and ghosts lurking in the undergrowth it was a decent sized number of runners that appeared for the reverse handicap.
That said there were also a couple of ghost runners as the two James's were jogging round and MikeL and Tom were pretending to take it easier to show Mark the route and with Chloe running round with Pete to recover from her 1:26 at the previous days Jed half .
Pete continued his return to form to finish first. Behind him Tom's behind propelled him past Mike showing the benefit a slick pair of shorts.
With just the backmarking MikeR and Stewart behind me I was about to set off when Gordon came running through the parliament. I decided to wait a couple of seconds and set off at the same time. Despite going over Haggis at a decent lick and then jogging as far as I could on the route past the old chapel by the time I could see the summit of Whinny MikeR had already climbed out of the scree above me. Score that one down to the scree as a faster route! Despite Stewart bearing down on me (he'd followed my slower route) I managed to hold him off through Dunsapie, he soon powered past on the grind up to Crow hill bearing down on Mike and the masses.
I decided to go down the gutted haddie which meant going over Nether before the summit, and by the time I reached the rocky clamber could see that Mike and Stewart were pretty much neck and neck. I crossed paths with Cam just about the top and as he was going the sensible route we soon found out that there is nothing to be gained by descending the gutted haddie. As a last resort I tried the lower path on the crags but that also didn't prove to be any quicker, losing me another few seconds.
Up ahead (quite far by now) Stewart was taking a leaf out of Tom's book and utilising the lack of friction wet grass has on shorts to full effect and in doing so gaining a vital 5 seconds on Mike.

The times are below but don't reflect the true finishing order, with the usual variations in start times screwing it up. Still, at least we know Pete was first home and Stewart was fastest so well done to them.

Next time it will be back to the normal way round.

Bruce Smith

October results

With a large number of call offs it was a surprise anyone turned up - as it happened quite a few did with several choosing their own start time which means the finishing order above doesn't show that the first man home was Stewart.
A valiant attempt to reclaim his course off Paul and a return to form saw Stewart dipping back inside 27 minutes and finishing first. Just ahead of Jamie, Eddie, Mick and Paul. Chloe finally made it around, although as she has yet to learn the grassy bank ascent there's more to come off her time I think. Digby's dentist delayed departure was actually the best run of the day, but as he failed to get his teeth into Stewart's lead I'm afraid his gnashing and wailing went unnoticed by the crowds, likewise Gordon's attempt to pace Digby by setting off similarly late.
Next months run will be in reverse in an attempt to surprise any remaining halloween guisers, hopefully it won't be the weekend after my calf has been battered by several miles of hard packed Trossachs paths.

April Reversicap results

Excellent turnout and lovely running weather with dry conditions underfoot.
New PB for James and first place, well done. Also new PBs for Gordon and Eddie.

Only consolation for me was that I made it to the bottom of the last hill, before anyone caught me. Then it all went to pot!!

Next month back to the usual way round.

Fantastic turnout for the March Handicap, with a record 20 runners out on the hill. Conditions underfoot were excellent, with a slight refreshing breeze.
Due to latecomers and early starters the actual finishing times will not necessarily match the official results.

We had 5 first-time handicappers (Cameron M, Russell, Franck, Chris and Matteo) so their times have been used as their handicap, hence the 1 o'clock finish time.
James B didn't have a watch, so I've given him his current handicap time as well.

Majority of us beat our handicap, with PBs from Andy, Digby, Martin, Richard, Jamie, Mike R, Paul H and Paul F.
Mike R was only 11s off Stewart W's course record of 26:02.

Another icy one to start the year. If you add to the dodgy running surface a couple of newbies and some 'not for a long time'bie's, mix in some uncoordinated watches, some 'jogging around cause it was "too icy"/"the day after a hard cross country"/"forgotten watch"' etc and the results are all over the place.

Fastest time of the day went to Paul Faulkner, thanks to his Kahtoola spikes. After only running the one handicap race last year Alistair used his handicap to full advantage to record a victory. Newcomers Digby and Richard have been repositioned in the results to reflect their actual run, Digby being too pessimistic with his estimate and Richard too optimistic. Digby being another though who took advantage of his Kahtoola's to tame the conditions. Mike L on the other hand had a set of magic spikes, which weren't quite as effective, although possibly arriving 5 minutes late and just coming back from the xmas break didn't help his chances much.

Good to see a huge turnout on such a treacherous day.